British mother arrested in Albufeira for hitting young daughter in hotel

GNR police were called out to a hotel in Albufeira late Saturday night after a 45-year-old British tourist started laying into her seven-year-old daughter, allegedly while drunk.

A police source told The Portugal News the woman was arrested but not held in police custody, and confirmed she was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the assault.

The child was taken to Faro Hospital and was due to be placed in the care of a local child welfare institution upon release.

The case has been reported to the courts; the British woman was expected to have been brought before a judge today (Monday).

The source said the incident occurred at around 10pm on Saturday night at the Hotel Monica Isabel in Albufeira.

Newspaper Correio da Manhã (CM) offers a few more details, reporting the woman was“rather drunk and started arguing with the child, and then went on to beat her”, causing injuries to her young daughter.

CM further states it was the hotel staff who called GNR officers, who in turn detained the British mother.

The child allegedly sustained superficial injuries and was taken by Albufeira firefighters to Faro Hospital.

It is not yet clear whether the young girl has been discharged by the hospital and placed into care.

The woman cannot leave Portugal until the court has made a decision on how to proceed.